Fresno State wrestling: Troy Steiner makes first addition to coaching staff

Troy Steiner made his first hire as Fresno State’s new wrestling head coach, announcing the addition of assistant coach Israel Silva on Friday.

Silva spent last season as the top assistant to coach Joe Russell at George Mason University. Silva joined the program the year before as an interim assistant and helped send three Patriots wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in his two seasons. He also was an assistant for two seasons at South Dakota State from 2012-14.

“I am very excited about adding Israel to our staff here at Fresno State,” Steiner said in a news release. “He has been an assistant at this level for a number of years and has experience coaching and competing at a high level. His ability to connect with the student-athlete, alumni and fans is very evident and I know I will be able to trust him in helping build the Bulldog wrestling program.”

Steiner was Silva’s personal coach when Silva trained at the Northwest Wrestling Regional Training Center in Corvallis, Ore.

“There is no individual I trust more than (Steiner). He has a grand vision for this program to compete for trophies at the NCAA Championships and I know we will be willing to put in the work to make that a reality,” Silva said.

Silva, a native of Marysville, Wash., won the 2006 Southern Conference heavyweight title as a senior at Tennessee-Chattanooga and also helped the Mocs win the SoCon team title.

He was a two-time Junior College All-American at North Idaho College and led the team to the 2002 JC national championship as a freshman. After college, Silva was a four-time World Team member for Mexico, three-time Pan American freestyle medalist and 2012 Olympic alternate.

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Fresno State wrestling: Troy Steiner makes first addition to coaching staff."